AHCA Has Adjustments Before Final Vote on Thursday

On Thursday, the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the Republican healthcare plan. The bill needs a simple majority to pass, so out of 435 representatives, 216 need to vote for the bill. With no house Democrats voting in favor of the bill, that means that 21 Republicans can break with their party. According to the New York Times, 22 house Republicans will vote no, 17 have stated they have concerns with the bill and 56 remain undecided.

To get this bill to pass, on Monday night Republican leaders in the house began to insert special provisions into the bill to gain support.

One such concession was to shift costs for Medicaid from counties to the state government in New York. This could save rural New York county governments – that are not New York City – almost $2.3 billion per year. This was done to appeal to conservative congressional representatives in Upstate New York, and to bring them on board for the bill.

This is just one example of the changes made Monday night to appeal to conservatives.

The revisions also further extend states ability to manage Medicaid programs with flexibility. For example, the bill would bar states to take a block grant of Medicaid funding rather than the current open-ended funding system. States would also be prohibited from opting into Medicaid expansion if they haven’t already. Finally, states would also be able to set requirements — like working – in order to receive Medicaid.

Furthermore, some taxes established by the ACA would be repealed earlier than outlined in the original bill.

While some conservatives in the House were swayed by these changes, some are still not against the legislation.

To help create more support for the bill, President Donald Trump met with Republican Congressional Leaders on Tuesday, where he warned them that opposition to this bill may put GOP control of the house – and therefore their jobs – at risk. However, he remained optimistic that the bill would pass.

“I think we are going to get a winner vote. They want a tremendous health care plan. That’s what we have. There’s going to be adjustments to it, but I think we’ll get the vote on Thursday.”